Emerald Spire 25.0 - The Reunion of Jhard and Tiana
Taking the spire back up to the surface, the now-seasoned adventurers wasted no time in disassembling the two constructs the late Zdislav had left to guard the ruin. Walking quickly through the dark, foul-smelling halls strewn with rotting morlocks, the group exited the spire and began to walk back towards Fort Inevitable. As they went, Marin made a point of talking to Tiana, quietly sizing up her morals and motives. She struck him as honest but also completely convinced of her guild's righteousness. She was excited to report back about her findings about the spire: it was sure to lead to a sizeable promotion. As for the guild's motives, she assumed that the Conclave would send more specialized agents to come and secure the site, investigate its uses, and make a strong legal argument for the Conclave's ownership of the artifact. Marin and Kormon exchanged looks: they were unsure about this plan to say the least. Reaching the edge of town well past nightfall, they paused to consider how they would get past the Adamantine gate guards which became a suddenly serious topic as they realized that the quiet, unassuming Vibol had indeed followed them here. They decided to hide the eidolon and Ismail's giant centipede on the floating disk covered with a tarp along with some of their baggage, sitting the incapacitated Tiana on top. Reaching the gate, they saw two guards, one of whom seemed much more vested in talking to the other whose expression was screaming for an escape that would never come. The second guard snapped to attention at the sight of travelers and questioned their identities and purpose. Amara produced identification papers from the Conclave that satisfied them and Tiana's injury dissuaded them from investigating the mound of objects she sat on too closely. With that, they let them in and the second guard sighed as the first started complaining about his ex-girlfriend anew. The group dropped off Tiana at the infirmary where she thanked them again for rescuing her. She was taken to an operating room to have her broken bone reset; the others stuck their head into the ward but found Jhard, the other Conclave agent, already asleep. Deciding it was best to come back the next morning, the group returned to the inn and rented their rooms once more. Ismail took in Vibol as neither of them required sleep. At dawn the next morning, Marin went room to room collecting his comrades. It was imperative that they speak to the two Conclave agents before they acted upon their knowledge as they wanted them to consider the plan they they had come up with first. Marin found Ismail, Vibol, and a team comprised of Ismail's scorpion familiar and the giant centipede playing a game of cards. Marin invited Ismail along but he waved him by, saying that there wasn't much use for him there and he was better served keeping an eye on Vibol in case cleaning staff tried to enter. Marin agreed that was a sound idea and promised to update him afterwards. Amara was sound asleep and since she was likely to be so for hours still, Marin and Kormon set out to the infirmary alone. Walking into the ward, they found both Jhard and Tiana; the former was asleep and the latter was busy writing. They didn't seem to know that they were both there, confined to their beds and blocked off by curtains as they were. Tiana greeted the men and spoke to them when they arrived, mentioning that she was penning out correspondence to the Conclave. Marin decided that he didn't want to have a discussion twice, so went over to Jhard and woke him. Wheeling the somewhat-brusque man over to his compatriot, they had an emotional reunion, both holding regret, sorrow, blame and relief that the other lived. When they finished and turned their attentions back to the adventurers that had saved them, Marin and Kormon began to pitch their plan: they did not want a large group of Conclave wizards coming to the spire. They would undoubtedly alert the Adamantine Order, who would inflict suffering on the townsfolk they administrated, as well as cause more widespread issues when fighting broke out. Instead, they posited that a small group come instead and perhaps a skilled, knowledgeable group of people, namely themselves, could assist them in investigating to ensure everyone's safety. Tiana mentioned the teleportation powers of the spire and the adventurers, when asked, replied that their keys were not for sale. Jhard took this as an arm-twisting gesture but seemed amicable to their plan overall: it could not be the Conclave's intention to incite the warlike Adamantines to open conflict. It was apparent that he was the senior among himself and Tiana and made the call that he would inform the Conclave of these developments and suggest this plan; however, he couldn't know what the higher-ups in the guild would do with that information. He estimated that it would take a few weeks for the Conclave to receive and act on any correspondence and he couldn't afford to waste time: he would make it Amara's job to continue investigating and securing information about the spire in the interim. Marin didn't appreciate the heavy-handed nature of Jhard's assertion but an accord was reached. Kormon, Marin and Ismail would continue to protect and assist Amara as she carried out her guild's business. Category:Emerald Spire